Sunday Praise & Worship 10:00
Christian Education - 10:00 - Casual Dress - Loving Childcare
|
|
| Sharing Generous Treasure Spring 2008 Pledge Campaign at Skyline UMC Budgeting Background Timeline: SPRING: Council and the Pathways submit proposed spending and
income for the coming year
Why Pledge?
Pledging helps Skyline understand the financial resources we will have available in the coming year to do God’s work.
How
Much is Enough? Some points to consider:
How
Much Do People Give?
We have a goal to try to keep 4-6 week’s of operating cash available to meet our routine fixed expenses. Monthly expenses averaged $32,462 fiscal ytd.
If you have any questions related to Stewardship or this year's campaign, please feel free to contact on of the following people:
|
||||
 |
After an opportunity to see the 97-minute film, organizers from Skyline and Newark Churches hosted an opportunity to share reflections and light refreshments. The website for the film is www.forthebibletellsmeso.org/indexb.htm. If you would like to order a copy of the film, you may do so online for $20 at First Run Features. To find out more about the Reconciling Ministries Network of United Methodist churches across the country that have made Welcome Statements to openly welcome GLBT persons, see www.rmnetwork.org online and check out the FAQs. |
Read the event Press Release and Andrea Miller's article in the Community News.
How Are We to Live Together by Co-Pastor Bo Gordy-Stith
|
Natural Church Development on the Agenda for Pathway/Council Retreat January 19, 2008
| ||||
|
We took over 30 youth and adults to the Youth Rally in Ocean City,
MD, January 4-6, 2008! There was a story in the News-Journal about the
rally, which drew over 4000 youth and adults. We enjoyed music,
entertainment, speakers, workshops, devotions together, and great
fellowship.
Enjoy
some of the pictures! The youth of Skyline will
celebrate the Rally at their monthly worship service, Sunday evening, Jan.
13, from 7-8 in the sanctuary. | ||||
|
Festival of Light III raised nearly $14,000 for missions and ministries at Skyline Church! Thanks to all who worked so hard to make this year's celebration and fundraiser such a tremendous success! | ||||
|
 Thanks to all who participated in our
Peace March on Monday, November 12. Thanks to Eli Gordy-Stith for dreaming the
dream.Here's the story and more pictures from the event. The Hockessin Paper also highlighted our Community Day in their year-end review. |
|
Skyline Council agrees to engage in a congregational conversation about publicly welcoming all persons, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. See the FAQs. |
At our September 11, 2007 Council meeting, the Church Council discerned God's leading us to explore adopting a more inclusive and public welcome statement. Making this statement would send a message to our community that no one will be turned away at our doors, including GLBT persons, who have traditionally been ostracized by the Christian Church. Adopting such a welcome statement would affiliate our church with United Methodists who are part of the Reconciling Ministries Network.
Judie Riley, our Outreach Pathway Minister, had asked our Lay Leader, Ivan Turner, to ask the Council to consider this process for Skyline Church after reading an August 12, 2007, Sunday News-Journal front page article about Epworth UMC in Rehoboth affiliating with RMN. The article, entitled "These pews open for all who want to worship: Rehoboth church accepts gay, lesbian congregants," by Gary Soulsman, reported that Epworth's RMN affiliation made it "the only [Methodist] church among 460 in Delaware and Maryland's Eastern Shore to officially welcome gays and lesbians".
The Council entered into dialogue about this process at our August and September meetings, and included the Pathway Ministers in that leadership conversation. A dozen of our leaders took an RMN survey, scoring an average 79 (out of 125), indicating that Skyline engage in a moderate curriculum. If you would like to take the survey, please report your results to our pastors and/or our lay leader.
After at least 18 months of formal and informal community dialogue, we will discern by a vote of all members whether God is calling us to make explicit in our Mission Statement that we will welcome and fully include LGBT persons at Skyline. You can review a sampling of RMN-affiliated churches' mission statements here. The RMN Mission statement is:
Reconciling Ministries Network is a national grassroots organization that exists to enable full participation of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities in the life of the United Methodist Church, both in policy and practice.What this process will mean for Skyline Church involves praying, studying God's Word together and dialoguing with each other in a way that moves beyond a tacit, "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The process is not a foregone conclusion, but a dialogue about who God is calling us to be. Our leaders are studying the processes other churches, including Epworth, have used, as we tailor a process suited to our community of faith. At a minimum, this process will involve a series of Bible Study and Small Group offerings focused on topics of inclusion and theological understanding of sexual orientation and gender identity, Biblical interpretation, dialogue, and membership.
Our co-pastors are members of the Reconciling Ministries Clergy network. They have received into full membership persons who have committed their lives to Jesus Christ as Lord and who are also gay or lesbian. Leadership positions at Skyline Church and ministry functions, including preaching and teaching, are based on spiritual gifting and the needs of the community and not sexual orientation. The church offers a bi-weekly Bible study specifically for LGBT persons who are seeking to know God more.
Our present Mission Statement is:
Reach out to those seeking a deeper relationship with God, Welcome them into Christian community and commitment to Jesus Christ, Equip them to live as the Holy Spirit gifts and guides, and to Send them out to serve and reach out to others in Christ's name.
|
Skyline Council confirms the election of Ruth Mentzer an an interim member of the Church Council |
After nomination by the Lay Leadership Team, the Skyline Church Council agreed on September 18, 2007 to extend a formal invitation to serve as an interim member of the Council, pending a vote on full membership by the Church Conference in June of 2008. Ruth accepted the invitation to serve, and will begin her responsibilities as a Council member effective September 18, 2007. Between the Church Conference sessions, the Council has the authority to act as the executive agency of the Church Conference.
The nomination was sought to restore the minimum number of active Council lay members (5) while Phyllis Hite convalesces from a recent stroke. The Council communicated to Phyllis their desire to welcome her back as a full member whenever she is ready to do so at the same time they communicated to her their plans to appoint Ruth Mentzer as an interim member of the Council. Our co-pastors and lay leader continue to keep Phyllis advised of church leadership issues.
In addition to serving as Council Member, Ruth Mentzer will continue to serve on the Lay Leadership Team (she did not of course participate in the decision to nominate herself) and as our Membership Care recorder (tracking worship attendance weekly).
|
We held our annual Church Conference June 20, 2007. You can see the full report in the PDF document.On June 20, our church met for our annual church conference to celebrate the past year in ministry together and prepare for this coming year. You can find the full report online at the church website. You may also request a copy of the report from the church office. Our 2006-07 expenses were $404,343. We received $379,893 in income and paid the $24,450 deficit with cash reserves. We have approximately $20,000 currently in reserve. We approved a budget of $405,954 for 2007-08. Our pastors salaries remain at the 2005-06 level but we restored continuing education and travel allowances, and increased our Admin Assistant’s salary 4%. We Voted to lower the minimum
council membership from 6 to 5 lay members and nominated the following new
leaders:
We give
thanks to the following leaders who complete their terms of service:
|
What a great day for Skyline and for Pike Creek! We partnered with Pike Creek Valley Civic League to make this a truly wonderful event. Car wash, vendors, food, activities, flea market, crafters, baked goods sale, kids’ activities and much, much more.
Check out the pictures (thanks to Lori Graham) and a video online. Did you see the front page story in the Hockessin and Mill Creek news?
|
|
Podcasting! A New way to enjoy or to share Skyline sermons. | ||||
|
Own an iPod and have iTunes on your computer? |
|||||
|
|
now to automatically download the latest sermons to your iPod. | ||||
|
Don't have an iPod? iTunes is free! |
 |
||||
|
Or simply click on |
|
to hear the Good News! | |||
Introducing “Christian Friends”
There are exciting
things happening in a small task force called "Special Needs Initiative”, a
Sunday school Class for individuals with intellectual and developmental
disabilities launched September 10, 2006. Our goal is to welcome with
love and support not only those within our congregation, but also to shine our
light in the community to those who have not have found a church home.
We passed out flyers about this new ministry in the resource area at The Buddy Walk at U of DE on Sunday, May 21. This event is sponsored by the Downs Syndrome Society.
An Ice Cream Social “kick-off” was held at the church on Sunday, August 27 at 6:00 pm to welcome all who are interested in the class. Our Skyline youth helped host this party.
God has led two individuals to offer their time and love to teach the class. Please tell your neighbors and friends in your community.
For more information, please contact Vivian Davis at vtdavis@comcast.net or 302-598-6666.
|
At our first congregational forum, on January 27, 2008, over 70 members and friends gathered to
express their opinions and to ask questions about the process. All of the 35
persons who spoke affirmed their understanding that Skyline’s doors are open
to all persons, though many voiced fear that the process of talking about
what it means to welcome all persons might be painful for some, and that
publicly welcoming people regardless of sexual orientation or gender
identity might result in a congregational split or
drop in attendance or financial support.
